Towns Armed With A “Presumption Of Correctness”

The world of municipal real estate tax appeals is unlike any other. Lawyers, politicians, residents and accountants all have a significant say not only in your property taxes, but also in the outcome of your property tax appeal. The deck is stacked against taxpayers before they even show up to their tax appeal.

How could that be?

A little something called the “Presumption of Correctness.”

The Presumption of Correctness is a legal doctrine in New Jersey that assumes the municipality is correct in how it levied its taxes against you. That means the default position where any tax appeal starts at is, you’re wrong. If the town had outdated information, improperly trained evaluators or just negligent or incompetent staff, unless you can prove otherwise, the town is presumed to be correct.

That’s a tough position for any homeowner to be in. You can see the results at the tax appeal hearings. The great mass of taxpayers’ appeals are routinely rejected because the town is presumed to be correct at the outset and the property owners are not properly armed with the data, evidence and facts needed to overcome the Presumption of Correctness. Overcoming the presumption of correctness is the golden key to winning your tax appeal.

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